Some trucks are most useful when they have flat beds with removable stakes around the edges of the bed. These are useful for carrying various types of loads which may or may not need stakes or railings to hold them in place. Sometimes such trucks are fitted with fifth wheels for the hauling of semi-trailers. The problem is the fifth wheel mounting on the flat bed truck occupies a portion of the truck bed area so that the full bed area cannot be utilized for flat loads. To enhance truck utility, there is need for a fifth wheel mounting which permits the fifth wheel to occupy a raised, above-the-bed active position and a lowered, below-the-bed storage position.